Selvage edge construction in woven elastic fabric



Jan. 8, 1952 A SCHIAPPA 2,582,169

- sELvACE EDGE CONSTRUCTION IN wovEN ELAsIIC, FABRIC FiledApril s, 195ov @III/I 1:

A' 'Il uDuuuDuuu DuDDDuDDD DuDuDUDuD uDuDuDuDu UDUUUDUUU DUDDDUDDD vDuDuDuDuD UDUDUDUDU www vc R`\c RC A INVENTCR. ANTHONY 5cm/appa Bx A ACI wwf@ Patented Jan. 8, i952 SELVAGE EDGE CONSTRUCTION IN WOVEN ELAS-TIC FABRIC Anthony Schiappa,.Pawtucket, R. I., assignor to Moore Fabric. Company, Pawtucket, R. I., a corporation of'Rhode Island ApplicationApril 3, 1950, Serial No. 153,703

3 Claims. 1` This invention relates to woven elastic fabrics comprising elasticv andi non-elastic warps, and filling which is commonly non-elastic. Such fabrics frequently receive lines of stitching in as.-

sembling with other pieces of fabric, and the.

stitching operation inevitably needle-cuts an occasional rubber thread. The cut thread then-contracts and commonly produces an irregular or ruffled edge on the fabric,V if the cut thread is in or near the-selvage.

It istthe general object of t-hepresent invention to provide a selvage edge for a woven elastic fabric which is so constructed that each elastic selvage thread will be firmly gripped and will be securely held from contraction if cut.

A further object is to provide a Woven elastic fabric in which the selvage portions contain covered-rubber warp threads only, and in which each rubber warp thread is under substantial tension in the finished fabric.

I also provide a woven elastic fabric in which any one of a plurality of associated rubber selvage Warp threads, if severed, will be held from slipping by the filling and by the remaining rubber selvage Warp threads.

I also provide an elastic fabric in which the selvage edge portions are preferably woven double or tubular and thus provide a thickened and more pleasing appearance at the edges of the fabric.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of my improved selvage edge weave construction;

Fig. `2 is a weave diagram thereof;

Fig. 3 is a Weave diagram of a portion of a body fabric; and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view nad also showing a slight modification.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown the edge portion of the fabric as comprising a covered-rubber Warp thread I!) and a plurality of covered-rubber selvage warp threads II, I2, I3 and I4. I have also shown filling threads F which are commonly inelastic but which may be elastic where two-way stretch is desired.

In the preferred construction, each selvage portion is Woven double or tubular, the threads being Woven in associated pairs, with certain warp threads in the upper fabric layer and with the remaining warp threads in the lower fabric layer.

The selvage warp threads II to I4, form a relaf 2. tively soft tubular edge alongside but outside of the warp thread I0, as shown in Fig. 4.

The weave as shown is three-and-one, with each covered-rubber selvage warp thread passing under one filling thread and over three, or else passing over one filling thread and under three. All of the rubber selvage warp threads are woven under tension, and they partially contract when vthe fabric is released from the take-up roll but they all remain under Vsubstantial tension in the finished fabric.

This partial contraction of the covered-rubber selvage warp threads on release of the fabric causes them to expandas they shorten, and such expansion causes each rubber selvage warp thread to be firmly gripped by the commonly nonelastic iilling F and by the associated rubber selvage warp threads.

If any one of the threads II to I4 is accidentally cut, it Will tend to contract further, and such additional contraction will immediately produce a still further increase in diameter. The cut thread is thus even more rmly gripped by the interwoven non-elastic filling and the associated rubber selvage warp threads and is held from any substantial further contraction in the fabric.

This gripping action is substantially increased -by the fact that the rubber selvage warp threads are all closely bound together in tubular form by the filling threads as shown in Fig. 4. With this construction, transverse expansion of a rubber warp thread (as II) after severance is strongly resisted by the remaining rubber warp threads (as I2, I3 and I4) in the tubular assembly, and the increased lateral pressure of the tubularly confined threads against each other retards and restricts longitudinal slip of the cut thread portions away from the point of severance.

The increase in diameter on decrease in tension is substantial. A covered-rubber thread which has a certain diameter at Weaving tension may increase one-half in diameter at tension and may be substantially twice as thick when fully relaxed.

The body weave, as indicated in Fig. 3, may be a single fabric weave, with filling shots F, small cotton warp threads C and rubber warp threads R. The rubber threads R are commonly substantially larger than the selvage rubber warp threads II, I2, I3 and I4 but the rubber selvage warp threads commonly have greater stretch. The cotton warps C may be woven twoup and two-down, and the interposed rubber warps R may be woven one-up and one-down. Other common weaves may be substituted.

The weaving of the covered-rubber selvage warp threads as a double or tubular fabric provides a thickened but softer selvage edge portion for the fabric and substantially improves the appearance of the fabric over a single fabric, which latter fabric might tend to appear thin at the edge on release from weaving tension.

Where a heavier selvage or one with greater pull is desired, one or more rubber strands S may be laid in the double or tubular selvage, as shown in Figure 4.

My improved selvage edge has been found satisfactory in actual use and effectively prevents runs and loose tension in the selvage, in the event that one or more rubber selvage warp threads are accidentally cut.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

l. A woven elastic fabric having a selvage portion comprising lling threads and a plurality of covered-rubber selvage warp threads only, each rubber selvage Warp thread being gripped by the filling threads and by the associated rubber selvage warp threads and being under substantial tension in the finished fabric, and said selvage portion being tubular and with upper vand lower fabric layers.

2. A woven elastic fabric having a body portion comprising relatively heavy covered-rubber warp threads and non-elasticwarp threads and hav- 4 ing a selvage portion comprising only filling threads and a plurality of covered-rubber selvage warp threads under substantial tension in the nnished fabric, and said covered-rubber selvage warp threads each having a longer stretch and a smaller cross section than said Ifirst-named covered-rubber body warp thread and being disposed in tubular form and in upper and lower fabric layers.

3. A woven elastic fabric having a selvage portion comprising lling threads and a plurality of covered-rubber selvage warp threads only, each rubber selvage warp thread being gripped by the filling threads and by the associated rubber selvage warp threads and being under substantial tension in the finished fabric, said selvage edge being tubular, and relatively heavy contraction means being disposed within said tubular edge portion and extending lengthwise thereof. ANTHONY SCHIAPPA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 283,100 Green et al. Aug. 14, 1883 817,019A Sykes Apr. 3, 1906 1,267,954 Achtmeyer May 28, 1918 1,601,484 Taylor Sept. 28, 1926 2,325,215 Amyot July 27, 1943 2,418,187 Moore Apr. 1, 1947 

